Russia-Ukraine: What do young Russians think about the war? Russia-Ukraine war

· 6 min read
Russia-Ukraine: What do young Russians think about the war? Russia-Ukraine war

True Russian cyberwarfare capabilities have proved something of a damp squib in Ukraine. Far from crippling the entire national infrastructure, the worst they are known to have done is briefly disrupt power and mobile phone networks. That, though, is partly because Ukraine had already learnt from previous Russian cyberattacks over the past decade. Britain has also allowed ammunition supplies to dwindle to “dangerously low levels,” according to a Parliamentary Defence Committee report.

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  • I really cannot understand why Russians don’t have the right to eat in McDonald’s.
  • We really want to help, but we haven’t been able to solve problems even in our own country, and now requests are flying around that we stop the war in another country.
  • If researchers exclude this group and also exclude the 20% of Russians who admit they oppose the war, that leaves about half of the country's population who researchers say support the war only at the "declarative level."

Public buildings and metro stations would be used as air raid shelters, while anti-aircraft guns might be hidden in parks. Romanovsky is also concerned about young Russian scientists who are important to the future of climate research in the region. "Eventually, I believe that we will be able to communicate openly again."

Many Russians Feel a Deep Unease Over Going to War

This could see states like Poland and the Baltics decide to aid Ukraine on their own, which "might leave NATO's eastern front vulnerable and cause a crisis within the EU and European NATO".  https://euronewstop.co.uk/why-is-the-uk-interested-in-ukraine.html  have largely outsourced much of their military capacity and thinking on strategy and security to the States through NATO. A prominent war expert has warned the US is on the verge of diminishing its support for or even withdrawing from NATO - and this could have catastrophic consequences for Europe. A journalist, soccer fanatic and Shrewsbury Town fan, Will’s love for the game has withstood countless playoff final losses. After graduating from the University of Liverpool he wrote for a number of British publications before joining AS USA in 2020. His work focuses on the Premier League, LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and the global game.

Throughout the war, researchers have been trying to understand what factors would reduce public support in Russia. Some 38% of respondents reported the war “has reduced their options or ruined their plans.” Among them, 14% of respondents reported a job loss, 36% a decrease in income and 56% reported spending more savings on food. “The feeling of the inevitability of war from the life of Russians, the feeling that the war is now with us, and we are with this life, caused the emergence of new meanings of war,” Zhuravlev said. Koneva said her research group has focused on examining the opinions of the core audience that supports Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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I mean – there is probably a way to go to Russia, but almost zero way for me to come back to study, and as a new semester is coming, I’m not risking it. I have a residency permit right now, but it expires in May. Because of everything escalating so rapidly, I’m anxious about whether I’ll have issues renewing it due to me being Russian. It’s hard to differentiate global problems from everyday ones, as you can see. But to combat the anxiety, we try to remember our connections with friends and family and enjoy the spring weather.

  • "We need independent media to stop the war and then try and improve life in Russia at least to a degree."
  • Russia's defence budget has tripled since 2021 and will consume 30% of government spending next year.
  • If the available data is concentrated in a few places, like Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, and excludes Russia's vast Arctic expanses, then the models will be increasingly inaccurate, the study finds.
  • Russian air defences have prevented a drone attack on an oil refinery in the city of Yaroslavl, northeast of Moscow, the regional governor has said.

If the available data is concentrated in a few places, like Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, and excludes Russia's vast Arctic expanses, then the models will be increasingly inaccurate, the study finds. The Russian president has intensified a crackdown on opposition since the start of his invasion of Ukraine, and this has ramped up further as the elections have approached. Balazs Orban, chief political aide to the prime minister, said Hungary sent a proposal to the EU over the weekend showing it was open to using the budget for the aid package if other "caveats" were added. While dissenting voices to Putin’s invasion are minimised in Russia, the scale and the intensity of the feeling of support for Ukraine means that the opposition cannot be entirely silenced by the Kremlin. I really cannot understand why Russians don’t have the right to eat in McDonald’s. Of course, that may be a strange example, but I just mean those of us who are against war still suffer from it.

Anna*, 22, Moscow – ‘None of us wanted this war’

Some of my friends are leaving the country right now, and I understand them. Surveys have suggested that the majority of Russians support the invasion. But it is difficult to determine how reliable these surveys are, in light of new crackdowns on free speech and dissent in Russia, where even the use of the word “war” to describe the invasion is now a crime. In the meantime, sanctions affect every Russian citizen in their daily lives – both those who support and those who oppose the war, those at home and those abroad. Was hatred a natural and ultimately inevitable response to the atrocities Ukrainians  were being subjected to? Does it change anything to know that many Russians oppose Putin’s war but are powerless to stop him, or to understand that others have been duped into supporting it through his hyper-nationalistic discourse?

what do russians think about ukraine

But even though justification of the Ukraine invasion can be found among Russians, there have been no demonstrations of support. “The night of (the invasion), I was in a really great mood," recalls Ksenia. "My friend and I were celebrating February 23 (Day of the Defender of the Fatherland or, more commonly, Men’s Day). “The conflict between Russia and Ukraine may last for several more years. I believe that the political system in Russia will be severely degraded in the coming years. Business, housing and community services, medicine, education – everything will sag. After such colossal losses, the army will have to be rebuilt again.

  • On top of that, western scientists no longer have access to field sites in Russia, he says.
  • Ukrainians held a positive view of the Russian people throughout this period and only turned against the Russian state and its president in 2014 in response to Putin’s aggression.
  • Why Russians do not protest is perhaps better explained by Russian history and not opinion polls.
  • He says the firm asks about peoples' feelings, and is seeing that both groups — those who support and oppose the military's actions — are anxious and afraid.
  • The protesters trickle along smaller streets, following location updates from dedicated Telegram channels.

But be we warriors or wimps, now is  the time to start facing up to the prospect, says Ed Arnold, a European Security Fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. If we took casualties at the rate the Ukrainians are taking them, the NHS would immediately be overwhelmed, and for years we’ve missed recruitment targets for the Armed Forces. A large diversion of citizens to military duty would leave gaps in the workforce to be filled, be it guarding food warehouses or building trenches and bomb shelters. Retired members of essential professions – doctors, nurses, morticians, police – would be urged back into service.

  • It’s 9 pm in Moscow and the police have already broken up the bulk of the protests.
  • Koneva said initially, when Russians heard about the damage and losses suffered by Ukrainians, Russian people looked more critically at the reason the Ukrainians were suffering.
  • After such colossal losses, the army will have to be rebuilt again.
  • Even then, the support rate decreased by only a few percentage points, from 58% to 52%.